Close-fitting boot



Dec. 7, 1948'. F. F. OILSON CLOSE FITTING BOOT Filed Feb.v 18, 1946 iffy- Patented Dec. 7, 1948 STATES PATENT OFFICE Frederick. E. Olson, Sudbury, Mass., assignor 'to The Goodrich Company, New York, N. 'Y., a corporation of New York Application February 18, 1946,;Serial No. 648,285

2 Claims. (ores-54 This invention relates to close-fitting boots, andspeciflcally to a-c1ose-fitting high-top boot of ;the wader type The principal -objectscof this inventionare to provide a waterproof .boot, particularly ofthe high-top or wader type, which hasv ample fullness for ease in. donning) and dotting and which fits closely. aboutthe .leg while. being .:WQl:I1 to con- 'stiu'ct such a boot.ina .minimum number of .simple operations .anfdlwith an economical use of materials} to construct the boot .so Qthatv it will bend; ily'at the knee without the use or a con- S'tfiitibn which might fail 'up'on repeated 'fi''fi ilflfg'; and, generally, to provide a serviceable, practical boot fo'f good appearance.

"Of ftheacco'rhpa'ny g. drawings: v, Fig. lfi'sja perspecti e-"viewjillustiating.'anearly 'stepinjtne manufacture of a boot in accordance with the invention showing a getter-like article inxth'e course of eonstruction'on a 'last;

Tigfz is a 'sirmiar view showing the same article following. an. operation. in. which the.joiner strip is .sli't"andjthei'attadhed "bellows pocket fully simmer:

I Fig; is' a fragmentary jpersp active view "illustrating a further step :"in' the manufacture and snowin th -operation of attaching a boot top eiemem to the "top of "the expanded 'gaiter-like ee:- i

4 is perspective view showingthe boot after complete attachment of the boot 'top'el'e- :ment *totliegainer-nee article, "aportion of the structure'bein'gshownlirokenawayandsectioned "ior -ciar'ity'df ill stration; 7

"Fig'x5 isasminar {View showing "the boot with the bellow's-pock etin thecdllapsed conditiondes'irablettii'fing *Wlca'rlfzation aswellas inf tlie {fin-- isheii boot es-worn;

- 6 a lio'rizonta1 sectional view taken on 6 of Fig. 5; ant 1,,. "I is--a-sin'iilar view t'a'ken on I'in'e 7- 1 "of FigsFfi.

in the memijfacturedf a '-typical' boot =enibodying he --in-"verltion, "as illustrated in the drawings, a ter lile ai ticlebf the wat rproof type, indieateageuersn i cyan-e numeral "1 l! is c one-tr noted in ii sual avay '61! a las t '1 l. lh-e gaiter-like article II] is constructed by' asserribling theusual constituent parts including rubber outsole 1' 2 and :vamp 1 3, quarter-14 and leg-encircling portion 15 :preferably forined 6f sheet rubber or sii'nila-r flexible wateiprocf material iin'ed wit "the-usual cotton fabric, although un1inec1 rubbe'r 'cr similar ima'terial als'o ma'y' be ii'sed''for thesef-piai 't's. "The Reg-encircling poitien t5 extends 'WeIl-abOV-eZEthe 55 an-meant. desirably to' the regicn of the knee and isdiv'id'ed ona median line down the front of the gaiter-like article from its upper margin 1:6 downward to the region of the instep. A toe cap H is attached to the vamp l3.

The opening formed by the divided leg-encircling portion 15 is then completely closed by a bellows pocket 88 which is attached to the conciguous vertical edges of the divided leg-encircling portion i5. The bellows pocket l8 consists of the usual-triangularly shaped piece of rubber or rubber backed w-ith fabric. The pocket blank is out large enough so that the longitudinal edge portions may be turned into S-shapedfolds which provide the fullness necessary for an expandable bellows pocket. The attached bellows pocket l8 extends upward. to a common height with the upper margin of the gaiter-like article ID.

The pocket .isfolded into a collapsed condition with the excess material taken up by the folds described above. The contiguous vertical edges of the divided leg-encircling portion [5 are then v held in abutting position by the application of a joiner strip l9 over the abutting edges. The joiner strip l9 desirably consists of a strip of rubber-coated fabric and extends from the toe cap '17 of the vamp l3 upwardly'to-ward the upper margin it of the leg-encircling portion l5.

For insuring a waterproof construction, the top center region of-the joinerstrip desirably should be cut-out at least in the zone between the'vertical edgesof the leg-encircling portion to provide, for-example, a U-shaped aperture as shown at 20. Qtherwise the boot top which is attached thereover would be joined to a section of the joiner strip. which would not be attached to :the bellows pocket beneath it and a channel for leakage would result. A similar result together with a reduction in bulk at the joint with the boot top also maybeachieved by terminating the entire joiner strip short of the top margin of the gaiterlike article and-below the line to which the boot top will extend.

The joiner strip l9 holds the leg-encircling portion l5 closely about the last to approximate the s'hape'the article would have if being worn. In thenext operation, bucklesZl, 2| .or other suitabl'e closure means are positioned and attached to the gaiter-likearticle so as to extend across :thejoiner strip 9 9. The gaiter-like article'is normally constructed of unvulcanized rubber material which is preferably left unvulcanized until 'alater stage'inthe construction. The joinerstrip isnext'slit vertically 22 from the top of said strip downwardly tothe region of the instep with the slit' 22 ending just about the lower end of the-at- I tached bellows pocket l8.

boot top element is cut so that the lower margin 25 is of the same length as the circumference of the continuous margin 23 formed by the gaiterlike article with the attached pocket fully expanded and the boot top element is then marginally attached around the entire circumference of the continuous margin 23. In attaching the boot top element 24, the material conveniently is joined beginning at the back of the gaiter-like article so that when the element is entirely at tached it forms a generally cylindrical element extending upwardly from the gaiter-like article as indicated by the numeral 2'l of Fig. 4. The vertical edges 26, 26 of the boot top element abut at the back of the boot to form a vertical seam. Inorder to obtain a smooth, unwrinkled, watertight seam between the gaiter-lik-e article and the boot top during this attaching operation the continuous margin 23 of the gaiter-like article is pulled taut and the boot top element is cemented on and, if desired, further secured by a rubber dam strip around the entire circumference.

Seam reinforcements, indicated by the numera1 32 of Fig. 6, are applied to the seam formed by the abutting vertical edges 26, 26 of the boot top element 2 4. The upper margin of the boot top is finished by applying a binder strip 28 around the entire circumference. A strap 29 and buckle 30 are then attached to the cylindrical boot top 2'1 somewhat above the knee zone, their circumferentialpositions being determined (Fig. 4) by extending an imaginary line through the rows of buckles on either side of the joiner strip of the gaiterlike article. A snap 3! is attached near the upper margin of the boot top for fastening the top of the boot to the wearers belt as is customary with wader boots.

If, as in the preferred procedure, the rubbe material in the assembly is still unvulcanized, the bellows pocket of the gaiter-like article is collapsed and at the same timea frontal zone of the boot top extending upwardly from the pocket is similarly collapsed to provide a continuous bellows pocket extending from the region of the instep to the top of the boot. The buckles 2!, 2i and the strap 29 are then fastened to maintain the bellows pocket in the collapsed condition and the entire assembly is then subjected to vulcanization in the usual way. By vulcanizing the pocket in the collapsed condition, a permanent set is imparted to the rubber which causes the pocket to tend to retain its collapsed condition and so facilitates fastening the boot closely about the leg.

Before the boot is vulcanized with the pocket in the collapsed condition, the folds of the pocket are usually insulated from each other to prevent adhesion during vulcanization. This insulation may be effected in any of several known Ways such as by dusting the contiguous surfaces ,with soapstone, talc or similar dusting material,

or by placing a layer of holland cloth or vellum 4 or similar separating material between the folds, or by lacquering the surfaces prior to collapsing.

Alternatively, it is possible to vulcanize the assembled boot with the pocket expanded as shown in Fig. 4 and thereafter to collapse the pocket as described to the condition shown in Fig. 5.

It will be understood that the finished boot is donned and doifed while the pocket is expanded much as is shown in Fig. 4 while the boot ordinarily will be worn with the pocket collapsed as in Fig. 5.

The boot comprises one integral unit which is entirely waterproof. It provides fullness for facilitating donning and dofiing, yet fits closely about the leg while being worn. The boot bends easily at the knee, but since the boot top comprises one piece of material and the bellows pocket is merely a folded portion of that piece, flex 'failures are minimized.

The operations involved'in the construction are all quite simple and involve low cost factors. The entire assembly is neat in appearance with no bulky portions where the gaiter-like article and the boot top are joined. The boot may be held closely about the wearer's leg with a minimum use of closure means, hence the boot may be quickly and easily donned and fastened.

This invention may be embodied in various types of high-top close-fitting boots where fullness is desirable for donning and dofling. A boot constructed according to the method may be easily donned over shoes or Worn without shoes.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to a particular embodiment, it will be understood that variations and modifications may be effected in the boot and the method of construction as described without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A boot of vulcanized flexible rubbery material comprising a lower gaiter-like member having a divided frontal zone extending from the region of the instep of said gaiter-like member to the top thereof and having opposed vertical margins normally in contiguous relation, and upwardly directed leg-encircling member having its lower margin secured around the extent of the upper margin of said gaiter-like member, and a normally collapsed expandable bellows pocket extending continuously across the juncture of said members from the region of the instep to the top of the boot, the lower portion of said bellows pocket comprising a pocket member marginally secured to the opposed margins of said divided frontal zone and extending to the top of said gaiter-like member where said pocket member is marginally secured to the lower margin of said leg-encircling member, the upper portion of said bellows pocket comprising a frontal zone of said leg-encircling portion biased toward a folded condition forming a, normally collapsed extension of said lower pocket member, said normally collapsed bellows pocket being of substantially uniform cross-sectional configuration throughout its vertical extent.

2. A boot of vulcanized flexible rubbery material having a normally collapsed expandable bellows pocket of generally uniform cross-sectional configuration throughout substantially its entire vertical extent, said boot comprising a lower gaiter-like member and a leg-encircling upper member having its lower margin secured to the upper margin of said gaiter-like member around the circumferential extent thereof with said bellows pocket extending continuously across the juncture of said members, said gaiter-like member having a divided frontal zone extending from the region of the instep to the top of said member and having opposed vertical margins normally in contiguous relation, the portion of said bellowspocket in said gaiter-like member being marginally secured to the opposed margins of said divided frontal zone and normally lying REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,280, 49 Breck Oct. 1, 1918 1,312,781 Flannery Aug. 12, 1919 ,349,572 Hubbell Aug. 17, 1920 1,524,049 Martin Jan. 27, 1925 1,771,277 Van Dinter July 22, 1930 1,837,518 Blair Dec. 22, 1931 2,306,306 Ferrettie Dec. 22, 1942 2,309,520 McCandlish Jan. 26, 1943 2,426,700 Malluk Sept. 2, 1947 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,455,801. December 7, 1948.

FREDERICK F. OLSON It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as ollows:

Column 4, line 47, claim 1, for the word and read an;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November, A. D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Oommissz'one'r of Patents. 

